Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the Hot Rod Forum : Hotrodders Bulletin Board forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name (usually not your first and last name), your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Insurance

Please select your insurance company (Optional)

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Additional Options

Miscellaneous Options

Automatically parse links in text

Automatically embed media (requires automatic parsing of links in text to be on).

Automatically retrieve titles from external links

Topic Review (Newest First)

11-18-2012 08:15 PM

idontdrivericeieatit

Yea thats why I say I dont know for sure I have no personal knowledge. Of vortec heads as I dont and havent ever used them I was just going by what people say me im a big fan of afr since my first set not going back now plus with the solid roller cams I like to run it would cost me to much to get a set of vortec where they would need to be

11-18-2012 07:37 PM

cobalt327

"383 lift" could mean lobe lift. I just love it when statements are made so clearly. No decimal points, no nothin'.

As far as "everybody I know says they (L31 Vortec heads) will support 480 lift stock"- do NOT count on it. There have been cases where they will allow 0.480" lift, but that's going to be w/o much if any leeway between the retainer and seal at max lift. There are easy and not so easy ways around this, but in stock form this is a total crap shoot. More on L31 Vortec heads here.

11-18-2012 12:38 PM

idontdrivericeieatit

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Gary

Hey Pugsy.What up??.

I knew what he meant too.

We had a guy with a 350 Vortec Goodwrench crate in a 4,000 Astro van(yepper that's there wt stock) use that "383" cam with a mod'ed TBI and chip burn.Now not everything has to be over 500 in a lift to be a decent cruiser.Surprising mid curve and very good,no great,street manners.For some that would be a worth while venture.Because of the way the thing pulled in the mid section on a 4,000 van,I would think it is all of 300hp.

Yea that engine you speak of had vortec heads which are way better than the 305 heads on his motor plus other upgrades and you say a 383 cam he said a 383 lift cam doubt you mean same cam and hes talking bout high compression with the 305 heads and then says it runs on 87 one of them statements are wrong high compression and 87 octane gas dont go together and no everything does not have be 500 lift I dont run that small a lift im in 600 lift range but with that said I was just tring clear up a 350 with stock 305 heads and small cam does not make unbelievable power if he wants make that kind of power just find any 350 in a junkyard for few hundred bucks I thought whole deal was a budget 400 hp engine not something my grandma has in her car

11-18-2012 10:05 AM

1Gary

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinniekq2

transmissions and gear donot produce any horse power.

Quote:

Originally Posted by idontdrivericeieatit

And sorry but if you think a 350 with 305 heads and a 383 lift cam which I didnt even know they made them that small makes unbelievable power then you dont know what real power is you would be lucky to make 200hp now the 400 is heavy and prob is costing him a few hp to rear wheels but motors not going make any more power no matter what gear or trans he has gear and trans just puts power to the road

Hey Pugsy.What up??.

I knew what he meant too.

We had a guy with a 350 Vortec Goodwrench crate in a 4,000 Astro van(yepper that's there wt stock) use that "383" cam with a mod'ed TBI and chip burn.Now not everything has to be over 500 in a lift to be a decent cruiser.Surprising mid curve and very good,no great,street manners.For some that would be a worth while venture.Because of the way the thing pulled in the mid section on a 4,000 van,I would think it is all of 300hp.

11-18-2012 09:27 AM

123pugsy

Lower gears will give the feeling of more power as the car will pop off the line better. I believe this is the point he's making and not dyno numbers power.

11-18-2012 09:25 AM

allansmith859

There are transmissions that are way better than others. I was just simply stating what I had and it helped my setup. I am not telling him to go buy one just saying it helps to have a good one.

11-18-2012 09:15 AM

vinniekq2

(And gears and a tranny def helps out with whatever setup you are going to have.)
what car does not have gears and tranny?
gear ratios can be changed for specific applications,,,
The absolute cheapest way to make a car quicker is to reduce the weight.some weight reduction can be done for the cost of labour alone.

11-18-2012 09:00 AM

allansmith859

Yes it is .480 max lift. And Yes the engine I stated ubove is a nice mean street engine ON A BUDGET. No it doesnt have huge HP but I was saying not to worry about HP espeacially since he said he is on a budget. Just build a good reliable engine with parts that is in his price range. And I know for a fact my engine has more than 200 HP. Might not have 300 but it is a good reliable engine. And it runs awsome. And gears and a tranny def helps out with whatever setup you are going to have. Also I never said you used vortec heads. The OP was asking about getting one.

11-18-2012 12:17 AM

idontdrivericeieatit

And I dont use vortec heads never have never will so dont know for sure but everybody I know says they will support 480 lift stock

11-18-2012 12:14 AM

idontdrivericeieatit

And sorry but if you think a 350 with 305 heads and a 383 lift cam which I didnt even know they made them that small makes unbelievable power then you dont know what real power is you would be lucky to make 200hp now the 400 is heavy and prob is costing him a few hp to rear wheels but motors not going make any more power no matter what gear or trans he has gear and trans just puts power to the road

11-17-2012 08:56 PM

vinniekq2

transmissions and gear donot produce any horse power.

11-17-2012 11:20 AM

allansmith859

Last year I was on a budget and I found a 350 3/4 ton truck that my uncle had and I took the engine out. I had some heads that were alredy checked out fine by my machine shop that were off of a 305 or 307 95 c10 I think it was. I used those heads and had a cam that I bought for 50 bucks. All I know about the cam is that it has 383 lift. Also have a edelbrock performer intake. Well I built this engine and it got unbelievable power. I dont know if its cause the 305/307 heads put off high compression or what but I run the car (79 El Camino SS) on 87 pump gas. It sound mean and drives like a champ. One thing I would consider is your transmission and gears. I have a muncie 4 speed and 3.73 gears which thats where I get alot of power from. Im also usin a stock Q Jet carb. So I guess what Im getting at dont worry about 400 HP and just build a good reliable mean street motor using GOOD used parts like an assembled block find some good vortecs (L31) heads like you were saying you wanted, if you can and just buy a good cam. All those vortecs can handle stock is .425 Lift but still would be a hell of a motor.

11-17-2012 10:24 AM

ap72

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1Gary

A proper gaped 5/16 compression ring for it's application is going to provide 7 to 8 pounds of tension.
Certainly ring material,our competent properly prepped cylinders all come into play in the final sealing power.

We don't go by OEM standards when that hasn't been the point of hot rodding from the beginning of time to current.Some of the stuff they do is just pure cost cutting.

These comments are related to first gen blocks and street/strip applications.

Most people use the OEM standard as the lowest acceptable standard- they try to do better. In fact, you're the first hotrodder I've found that sets their standards as higher than the target.

If you want to know all of the why's on why thinner rings are superior then call Total Seal- they've never steered me wrong and I'm sure they'd be glad to help you out too.

11-17-2012 10:19 AM

1Gary

A proper gaped 5/16 compression ring for it's application is going to provide 7 to 8 pounds of tension.
Certainly ring material,our competent properly prepped cylinders all come into play in the final sealing power.

We don't go by OEM standards when that hasn't been the point of hot rodding from the beginning of time to current.Some of the stuff they do is just pure cost cutting.

These comments are related to first gen blocks and street/strip applications.

11-16-2012 02:34 PM

cobalt327

Just saying "metric rings" leaves a lot out of the picture IMHO. There has been metric rings used in GM production engines for quite some time now- including the Gen 1 and 2 SBC. So to say 'metric rings' does not necessarily say anything is all that different that can't be handled by a competent machine shop (tension, materials, honing finish) other than the measurement system used to measure the rings. In the case of the SBC the top rings measure the same thickness for all intents and purposes, while the second rings are marginally thinner than the old fractional ring sets.

Example:

A 5/64" ring = 1.98mm. The LT1/4 Gen 2 engines and the later Gen 1 engines use a 2mm/1.5mm/4mm ring package. The second ring is akin to a 1/16" fractional ring. Radial tension may be less, but it does not HAVE to be so.

This thread has more than 15 replies.
Click here to review the whole thread.